From the beautiful town of Jyväskylä, in the heart of Finland, come Seed Husk. Their first album consists of songs full of rough attitude and beautiful melodies.
The album was recorded and mixed in Electric Fox Studios by Tuomas Kokko, mastered in Chartmakers by Svante Forsbäck and produced by Seed Husk.
Here's our chat with them about their debut album, their country and much more.
Interview by Michela
Ph. credit by Nora Niemispelto
Seed Husk review
LFdM: Hi Mikko, thank you so much for this chat. Can we start talking about the genesis of Seed Husk? Like an album and like a band?
M: The birth of Seed Husk is a mixture of carefully planned details as well as pure coincidences. Mikko Peiju (which is I) and Vellu Virtanen have had a long history playing in different bands in Finland and at some point both of us found ourselves “at the end of the road” with our bands. We happened to have a chat over a cup of coffee and found out that we both wanted to play in a band where all the responsibility wouldn’t fall straight into our laps. We wanted to form a band with five equal members. And before we even noticed, Seed Husk was born.
Jari Heiskanen is a multi talented bass player and a friend of ours since a long time. When the guitar players sometimes struggle with playing complex melodies, Jari usually has a different problem - which one of the several options he would choose. The sound of Seed Husk has a lot to do with Jari’s presence.
Jouni Kauppinen, our drummer, is also a part of the big group of friends and musicians that have played in the same music circles in Middle Finland. In addition to precise ear for rhythm Jouni knows how to sing in harmony and also arrange songs to rock like hell. In a band it’s very important to have a smoothly rocking rhythm section. Together Jouni and Jari form a mixture of firmness and freedom.
No matter how talented the other members of the band are, the singer is always the front man. The band always had a vision, that as well as talented, the singer should also be a so called shoegazer who doesn’t have an ego the size of an apartment building. We wanted to find somebody that would fit into our democratic family like a carrot in a snowman’s head. Everyone who knows anything about forming a band can now sigh deeply and say: “You know, this is probably not going to happen.”
Panu Perkiömäki found us through an ad in a newspaper. At that time he was in a musical and personal crossroad and looking for “something else” - a new genre and musicians with fresh and fearless attitude. Seed Husk had had a lot of singer candidates, both men and women, but as soon as Panu arrived to his first rehearsal we knew that this was it. After that we could start aiming our focus to writing songs and sharpening our playing together.
LFdM: I found your sound very interesting, a grunge manifesto that sings about love, with hard rock riffs and good pop rock rhythmic structure. Where does your inspiration come from and how is it developed?
M: Thank you for the kind words! Both I and Vellu have an original way of playing guitar, because we both are self-taught. Our sound and technique has been formed by countless hours of playing in moldy rehearsal rooms.
We don’t have specific roles as rhythm guitarists and solo guitarists - we like to throw ideas in the air and just play with them. Sometimes it’s hard to say what the first idea for a song is a riff, piece of melody or a rhythmic burst of joy… But when all these are mixed together, a new song is born!
When you are wading through wet snow from day to day, you must keep your mind raised to the skies so that your soul wouldn’t sink into depths. The light must be found inside your head because Finland is a very dark country most of the year. The change of the seasons can be hard for your mind. The salvation can be found in music and that’s what we want to offer! Maybe the fruit of inspiration lies somewhere here.
The lyrics come from family circles. Anneliina Peiju, a cosmopolitan professional writer, has written the lyrics in Finland, Portugal, Vietnam, Indonesia and Norway. Our singer Panu and Anneliina share a similar world view and state of mind, so for Panu it’s easy to adapt the lyrics and make them his own.
When it comes to the essence of our songs, the story behind the album is about a journey from darkness to light and back again - about facing the present moment in all its colours. The easiest way to take part in the trip is by listening to the album from beginning to end.
LFdM: Let's talk about Seed Husk album. What did you like the most in the creative process that has brought to light this album? Did you start recording with the songs already defined by the work in the rehearsal room or have you worked the compositions in the studio?
M: The album was prepared carefully. We had sharpened the songs and the arrangements before going to the studio, and there we started looking for a rough live sound. We didn’t want the album to have a “studio sound” that you can hear in radio songs every day.
Before the studio we made a demo version of the album, and by doing that we had a very clear idea what we wanted to do in the studio. Studio time is expensive, so you really don’t want to start having second thoughts there. The studio sessions were simply great - the atmosphere was extremely creative and positive, and I think you can hear that from the album!
LFdM: Your band comes from '80s Melodic Hard Rock. The music in "Seed Husk" created a good mix between modern and old school sound. What do you think about the modern Melodic hard Rock scene?
M: One of the most rewarding things is that everybody can hear different things in the album - in the music and also the lyrics. Many people have heard musical influences from 80’ies and 90’ies, even though the band itself feels that it scoops influences mostly from indie and alternative rock. But bands like Judas Priest, Accept, Hanoi Rocks and Twisted Sister have been a big influence for some band members, so finding glimpses of that era in our music is not so far-fetched!
Personally, I listen to music from Kate Bush to Opeth and everything in between. When it comes to today’s hard rock scene, I might not be the best person to analyze that… But in general I think the genres are starting to mix more and more, and all good music serves a greater purpose!
LFdM: The album was released in a short time or not? Do you have in mind some particular idea for the promotion right now?
M: The making of the album (without writing the songs) took 7-8 months. This includes the recording, mixing, mastering, cover artwork and printing.
We have a distribution contract with Inverse Records, and the band is doing some promoting - mostly by playing gigs all over Finland. We would be interested in playing outside Finland too, since there has been some interest here and there in Europe.
LFdM: Did you somehow expect this kind of result or this was a sort of surprise for you too?
M: We were very pleased with the album when it was released, and we have also been very flattered about the comments we have had. As a music devotee myself I can truly appreciate positive critique. Despite of that we still always going to do things our way in the future!
LFdM: Who you consider one of the most important finnish contemporary metal bands in your opinion?
M: In Finland there is no lack of great metal bands. The most interesting names at the moment are bands like Ghost Brigade and Shallow the Sun.
LFdM: Thanks to internet, music has undergone a considerable evolution. YouTube, for example, is a great way of sharing. In your opinion to what extent did the internet influence the perception of the music?
M: Personally I just like to put a vinyl record on and let the music take control. But still, YouTube, Spotify, Deezer etc are good tools for searching music and finding bands like us.
LFdM: What are your next tour plans?
M: Our tour plans are evolving with the public interest… At the moment we are playing gigs in Finland, but we are open to invitations!
LFdM: Well, see ya in Finland next month… keep in touch!
M: Welcome to Finland on December. I hope we will have snow when you come, my country can be very beautiful in the winter!
LFdM: I hope so :)
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